February 2011

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GA March events

February 28, 2011 in Graduate Assembly by TBG | Comments closed

The GA has a wide variety of events planned for March. Here’s what’s scheduled for just the first week and a half. We hope to see you there! And be sure to check the calendar for more.

March 3: Delegate Assembly Meeting, 5:30-7:30 pm, Eshleman Hall. Check in with your representatives to get the latest news.

March 6: Graduate Student of Color Study Hall, 10 am – 2 pm, Anthony Hall. All are welcome and refreshments will be provided.

March 6: Graduate Diversity Beer and Pizza Reception, 4-6 pm, Multi-Cultural Center in the MLK, Jr. Student Union. Come welcome prospective students of color to campus.

March 9: GMORR Brown Bag on “Academic Writing: Grants, Papers, and Publications,” 12-1 pm,  Stephens Lounge in the MLK, Jr. Student Union.

March 10: The Graduate Social Club‘s Spring Social, 6-9 pm, Pauley Ballroom West in the MLK, Jr. Student Union. Enjoy pizza and beer with friends and other graduate students from around campus.

Volunteering in Berkeley Public Schools

February 23, 2011 in Guest blogger, Things to do by Katie Kadue | Comments closed

The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. Image by mental.masala.

The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. Image by mental.masala.

Daria Wrubel, garden teacher at Thousand Oaks Elementary School, is teaching a lesson on salad. The students will soon be preparing and enjoying a root-to-fruit snack, a salad that incorporates all the different edible parts of plants: root (carrot), stalk (celery), seed (pumpkin seed), leaf (lettuce), and fruit (dried persimmon). The kids, who help out cooking in the school kitchen as well as planting, weeding, harvesting, and composting in the garden, are pretty conversant in vegetable taxonomy. But when Daria – or “Farmer D,” as she’s often called – asks the assembled third-graders what kind of leaves they might find in a salad, she has a hard time getting the answer she’s looking for.

“Kale!” shouts one.

“Arugula!” chimes another.

“Baby spinach!” says a third.

By the time Daria gets everyone to agree on “lettuce,” half the class has already moved on to a heated discussion of who has the biggest persimmon tree in their front yard. Read the rest of this entry »

For music lovers: The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

February 21, 2011 in Things to do by TBG | Comments closed

For the first time in 20 years, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is traveling to the Bay Area. And for the first time ever, this internationally renowned orchestra will be performing on the Berkeley campus. In addition to their scheduled performances Friday, February 25, through Sunday, February 27, Cal Performances is hosting several special events that offer students a unique way to experience the music of the Vienna Philharmonic.

On Saturday, February 26, from 10 am to 12 pm, Professor Rainer Honeck, Vienna Philharmonic Concert Master, will lead a strings-section master-class for members of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra at Zellerbach Hall. Anyone can observe this event for free!

UC Berkeley music students may attend the Vienna Philharmonic rehearsal at Zellerbach Hall on Friday, February 25, from 10 am to 1 pm. After the rehearsal students will have the opportunity to speak with the musicians. Then on Sunday, February 27, UC Berkeley music students are also invited to a chamber music concert with members of the Vienna Philharmonic at Hertz Hall from 11 am to 11:45 am. If you are interested in attending either of these free, but invitation-only events, please RSVP to eduprograms@calperfs.berkeley.edu.

Finally, Cal Performances is offering reduced-price tickets to the orchestra’s concerts. Tickets begin at $65 and UC Berkeley students get 50% off.

Launching “Around the Campus in 80 Days”

February 18, 2011 in Graduate Assembly by Philippe Marchand | Comments closed

Image by Christian Haugen

In order for the Graduate Assembly (GA) to be an effective advocate for graduate and professional student interests, it is crucial to maintain a two-way dialogue between students and their representatives. This is why the GA has launched a new initiative this semester to facilitate direct conversations between graduate students from all disciplines and GA officers and delegates. Through these discussions, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the current work done by the GA on behalf of UC Berkeley graduate students, and let the GA know which issues matter to students in your department.

The goal of “Around the Campus in 80 Days” is to organize such forums in as many departments as possible from now until the end of April 2011. This includes both departments that are currently represented by Graduate Assembly delegates as well as departments that are not currently active within the Assembly.

See the campaign calendar for the list of departmental forums scheduled so far. If your department is not listed and you are interested in having such a forum, please send a message to internal@ga.berkeley.edu .

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On February 11th, we held the first departmental forum in Earth and Planetary Science (EPS), with 15 students in attendance, along with representatives from both the GA and UAW2865 (the union representing Graduate Student Instructors). Here’s a brief report from this meeting:

  • In EPS, students have a formal agreement with the department ensuring that they will be funded for the duration of their degree (through any combination of departmental grants, university grants, external fellowships, and GSI- or GSR-ships).
  • Although GSI-ships are not EPS students’ primary source of funding, they still felt the impact of university-wide budget cuts on departmental resources (e.g., cutting office phone lines, relocation of administrative research support from the department to central campus).
  • Students present at this meeting seemed favorable to the idea of a UC-wide “Graduate Student Bill of Rights” and suggested including it in information packets sent to incoming graduate students.

You CAN do it: Preserving food for fun

February 14, 2011 in DIY by TBG | 2 comments

All in a day's work: Tomato sauce, green tomato pickles, and more!

Canning, once more widely regarded as a chore than a hobby, is making a comeback as a pleasurable pastime by combining the do-it-yourself spirit of crafting with the sustainable food movement’s emphasis on seasonal, local fruits and vegetables.

ESPM graduate student, Kayje Booker, was inspired to start canning when she saw a jar of pickled beans selling for $8. Remembering her mom’s pickled beans, a childhood favorite, she called home and got the recipe. It turned out other grad school friends were interested in canning too, and so they’ve mixed learning about putting food away with socializing, spending two to three weekends a year canning tomatoes, tomato sauce, peaches, pluots, and of course, beans.

You don’t need much to get started canning. Read the rest of this entry »

Like clockwork

February 10, 2011 in Photos by TBG | Comments closed

With pink and white blossoms popping out all over, it’s hard to believe that the rest of the country is blanketed in snow. Enjoy this taste of spring!

Photo and title by Grumpies, whose work provides another example of using film to create vintage effects.

Mark your calendars: The 26th Anniversary Empowering Women of Color Conference

February 6, 2011 in Graduate Assembly by TBG | 1 comment

Each year Berkeley hosts the Empowering Women of Color Conference (EWOCC), the nation’s oldest and longest running conference for women of color. This year’s conference–entitled Building Across Difference: Inciting a Movement of Our Own–returns on Saturday, February 19. It will be held from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union. The focus of this day-long event is mental health awareness and building internal and external links. Come see keynote addresses by Angela Davis, Ericka Huggins, and Dylcia Pagan, hear musical performances by fantastic local performers, and participate in workshops and panel discussions. Registration is free for UC Berkeley students and can be done online before February 11th or on site on the 19th. For more information and the complete schedule visit ewocc.berkeley.edu or email woci@ga.berkeley.edu. To get inspired for this year’s event, check out the video from last year’s conference.

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